How to Spot Fake Discounts vs Real Loot Deals in 2025 – A Smart Shopper’s Guide

With India’s e-commerce market expected to cross $120 billion in 2025, platforms compete aggressively with discounts. However, studies show that 30–40% of online ‘deals’ are just inflated MRPs with small real savings. Sellers often mark up the price before sale season to show higher ‘% OFF’. As a result, shoppers think they’re saving big but actually pay the regular price.

Spotting fake discounts is easy if you know what to check:

• Inflated MRP: If a product’s ‘original price’ seems unusually high, it’s often fake.
• Odd % OFF tags: 70–90% off on electronics is usually too good to be true.
• Poor Seller Rating: Low-rated sellers push fake deals with no warranty.
• Unverified Reviews: Many fake deals use paid/fake 5-star reviews in bulk.

💡 Pro Tip: Compare the same product across Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra, and Croma before believing the discount.

Use price history and tracking tools to confirm discounts:

• Keepa (Amazon): Tracks product price trends for years.
• PriceHistory.in (Flipkart/Amazon): Indian tool showing past 6–12 months of pricing.
• SmartTrack (Flipkart Labs): Official price tracker available on select categories.

✅ A genuine deal shows a real price drop compared to the last 90 days, not just inflated MRPs.

A real loot deal usually has these features:

1. Cross-platform price drop (same discount on Amazon & Flipkart).
2. Stackable offers (bank discounts, exchange, cashback).
3. Trusted seller (Flipkart Assured, Amazon Fulfilled).
4. Reasonable % off (20–60% realistic range for electronics, 40–70% for fashion).
5. Limited duration (flash deals often expire in hours).

Check the table above for a quick view. Here’s a detailed example:

Fake Discount Example:

• Headphones listed at ₹4,999, shown at 80% OFF → Final price ₹999.
• Actual selling price on other platforms = ₹1,100. Real saving = just ₹100.

Real Loot Deal Example:

• Mobile worth ₹20,000 → Sale price ₹17,000.
• Extra ₹2,000 SBI Card discount + ₹1,500 exchange + ₹500 cashback.
• Final effective price = ₹13,000. Real saving = ₹7,000.

At DashingLoots, we manually filter offers with price tracking, seller verification, and cashback stacking checks. This ensures only genuine loot deals reach our readers and Telegram subscribers. Unlike automated scrapers, our curated picks highlight trustworthy deals that save you real money.

✅ Compare prices across 2–3 platforms. ✅ Check price history (last 90 days). ✅ Verify seller rating & return policy. ✅ Look for stackable bank/cashback offers. ✅ Avoid unrealistic 80–90% OFF claims. ✅ Follow trusted deal channels like DashingLoots.